Readers' Theatre with African and Chinese Folktales

A reader's theater script for Carmen Agra Deedy's version of a Cuban folktale, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is provided on these pages. Seven character roles are needed in this activity. While mostly written in English, Spanish...

Susan VanHecke's Under the Freedom Tree is transformed into a 12-part readers theatre script appropriate for a performance by upper-elementary classes.

Students become familiar with characteristics of folktales by reading or listening to African folktale that explains why sun and moon live in the sky. Students then create their own folktales about the sun and moon or another aspect of...

Scholars analyze fiction and nonfiction text and fill in a worksheet detailing the text's title, genre, and reason for its classification.

A 16-minute audiobook features "The Fox and the Wolf," a Basque Folktalethe folktale originally by Antonio de Trueba. Scholars follow along as a hungry wolf sets out to find a good meal: the fox!

Teaching about fiction genres can  be challenging. The lesson here, designed for library media specialists, offers a fun way to do it. In the lesson, learners visit the library and learn about the different types of fiction...

Students examine the art of storytelling. In groups, they write their own African folktales, design costumes, props and scenery, and videotape folktale presented in dramatic form.

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates. 

Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...

Students are introduced to the characteristics of folktales and their purpose. As a class, they listen to a folktale, answer questions about the characters and share which part they enjoyed the best. In groups, they compare and...